Terry Real

Terry Real, LICSW is a nationally recognized family therapist, author, and teacher. He is particularly known for his groundbreaking work on men and male psychology as well as his work on gender and couples; he has been in private practice for over twenty-five years. Terry has appeared often as the relationship expert for Good Morning America and ABC News. His work has been featured in numerous academic articles as well as media venues such as Oprah, 20/20, The Today Show, CNN, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Psychology Today and many others.

In 1997 he published the national bestseller: I Don’t Want To Talk About It, the first book ever written on the topic of male depression. That was followed by How Can I Get Through To You? An exploration of the role of patriarchy in relationships and most recently, The New Rules of Marriage: What You Need to Know to Make Love Work, a practical guide for couples and couples therapists.

Terry founded The Relational Life Institute, in Arlington, Massachusetts, dedicated to working with the general population to help women reclaim their voices and men open their hearts. The Institute offers a training program for therapists as well as workshops and trainings throughout the US and Canada.

My Sessions

Keynote Workshop – The Difference That Makes the Difference

The Difference That Makes the Difference: Getting to the Heart of Couples Therapy What’s the key to opening up new relational possibilities in stalemated relationships and helping partners shift from what’s often their worst self to bringing their best self into their connection with each other? Through recordings of live sessions, three clinicians will look […]

Keynote 04 – Working with Difficult Men

Working with Difficult Men: How to Engage, Understand, and Transform Male Clients At no other time in history have men been so awash in mixed cultural messages and in such a state of transition, confusion, reactivity, and trouble. Despite being basically good hearted, many men continue to make a hash of their relationships. We therapists […]

Workshop 02 – Diving into the Heart of the Work

Diving into the Heart of the Work: How to Produce Deep Change Quickly in Troubled Clients The secret to helping couples have a powerful, transformative experience in therapy is to get them to deeply explore—while in each other’s presence—their own character structure and family-of-origin trauma. For the therapist, this process involves six steps: arriving at the […]